# Launch (boat) > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Launch_(boat) > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Launch_(boat).md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Launch_(boat) > Source revision: 1349875667 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Type of boat}} {{Redirect|Motor Launch|the military vessel|Motor launch (naval)}} [[File:1910 Mathis Launch.jpg|thumb|1910 [Mathis](/source/John_H._Mathis_%26_Company) launch, 15 horsepower universal engine, at [Saranac Lake, New York](/source/Saranac_Lake%2C_New_York)]] [[File:Police.boat.london.arp.jpg|thumb|A police launch operating on the [Thames](/source/River_Thames)]] [[File:Steam launch Branksome, at the Windermere Jetty museum in Windermere, Cumbria.jpg|thumb|The steam launch Branksome, at the [Windermere Jetty museum](/source/Windermere_Jetty%3A_Museum_of_Boats%2C_Steam_and_Stories)]] '''Launch''' is a name given to several different types of boat. The wide range of usage of the name extends from utilitarian craft through to pleasure boats built to a very high standard. In [naval](/source/naval) use, the launch was introduced as a [ship's boat](/source/ship's_boat) towards the end of the [17th century](/source/17th_century). On each [warship](/source/warship), the launch was usually the largest boat out of those carried aboard. It could be propelled by [oar](/source/oar) or [sail](/source/sail), with this type remaining in service into the [20th century](/source/20th_century). '''Steam launches''' were introduced on a trial basis in 1867, but as steam-powered ship's boats became more common, the majority were steam [pinnaces](/source/Pinnace_(ship%2527s_boat)). Other military examples were the various motor launches used in the 20th century, employed for [harbour defence](/source/Harbour_defence_motor_launch), [anti-submarine](/source/Anti-submarine_warfare) patrols, escorting coastal [convoys](/source/Convoy), [minesweeping](/source/minesweeping) and recovering [aircrew](/source/aircrew) from crashed aircraft. Generally these were decked boats, some of which were capable of fast [speeds](/source/Speed). A powered boat operated by a regulatory or official organisation may be termed a launch, or a '''government launch'''{{snd}}such as the '''police launch''' or a '''harbour-master's launch'''. The size, range and capabilities vary according to the precise role. In private use, a launch is invariably a powered boat, using an [electric motor](/source/electric_motor), a [steam](/source/Steam_engine), [petrol](/source/Petrol_engine) or [diesel engine](/source/diesel_engine). Some are built to a very high standard of finish, with large amounts of [varnished](/source/Varnish) [hardwood](/source/hardwood) and polished fittings.{{cite web |last1=Owner |first1=Practical Boat |title=Glossary of Nautical Terms: L |url=https://www.pbo.co.uk/nautical-almanac/glossary-of-nautical-terms/l-16170 |website=Practical Boat Owner |date=11 November 2014}} Various local historic types are kept in use by enthusiasts and museums. thumb|A US Navy launch of the 1940s ==Etymology== The word launch is derived from the Spanish ''lancha'', which may be translated into English as "[pinnace](/source/Pinnace_(ship's_boat))". It has been suggested that ''lancha'' is in turn derived from a Malay word [Lancaran](/source/Lancaran_(ship)). The first instance of "launch" being used as a boat type in English was in 1697.{{cite book |last1=Mayne |first1=Richard |title=The language of sailing |date=2000 |publisher=Fitzroy Dearborn |location=Chicago, Ill. |isbn=978-1-579-58278-4}}{{rp|168}} ==History== {{main|Ship's boat}} thumb|William Bligh being set adrift in {{ship|HMS|Bounty||6}}'s launch The launch steadily replaced the [long-boat](/source/longboat) in the Royal Navy over the latter half of the 18th century. Both were usually the biggest [boat](/source/ship's_boat) carried by a warship or a merchant vessel in the [age of sail](/source/age_of_sail). The transition from longboat to launch was influenced by the [East India Company](/source/East_India_Company)'s successful experimentation with this change.{{r|May 1999|pp=41–43}} Launches were preferred as having greater carrying capacity, though they could be considered less seaworthy. One of two important roles was the carrying of drinking water. For example, a {{cvt|33|ft|m}} launch of 1804 could carry 14 large "leaguers" (barrels containing {{convert|150|impgal|L}} each), making a load of just over nine and half tonnes of water. A warship's launch would also be fitted with a windlass that allowed a ship's anchor to be carried or to be weighed (raised). This second essential role, generally for a ship's boat and specifically for the launch, was the laying out of anchors or weighing them after use. Before steam tugs were available, a ship's boat would often be used to [kedge](/source/kedge) a ship out of a harbour or away from a hazard such as a [lee shore](/source/lee_shore), set a new anchor or inspect the cable if moored for a long time, among a range of "anchor work" tasks.{{cite book |last1=May |first1=W E |last2=Stephens |first2=Simon |title=The Boats of Men of War |date=1999 |publisher=Chatham Publishing |location=London |isbn=1-84067-4318 |edition=2003 publ Caxton Editions}}{{rp|41-43, 44-45, 70}}{{cite book |last=Harland |first=John |title=Seamanship in the age of sail : an account of shiphandling of the sailing man-o-war, 1600-1860 |year=2015 |publisher=[Conway Publishing](/source/Conway_Publishing) |location=London |isbn=978-1-8448-6309-9 }}{{rp|203, 254, 277-278}} The launches issued to naval ships varied in size depending on the size of the ship they equipped. An 1815 schedule of ship's boats showed the range of 15 different lengths for launches from {{cvt|34|ft|m}} for a ship of 100 guns down to {{cvt|16|ft|m}} for a 200 ton sloop. As steam power became common in the navy, the need to transport drinking water (which could be distilled in the engine room) and transport anchors and cables to move a sailing ship both disappeared. By the last quarter of the 19th century, launches were only issued in one length, {{convert|42|ft|m|1|abbr=off}}.{{r|May 1999|pp=62, 71}} Launches had double-banked oars{{efn|A double-banked boat has two oarsmen seated on each thwart, each operating their own oar on their side of the boat. This contrasts with a single-banked boat, with just one oarsman on each thwart operating a single oar, with the side on which the oars are worked alternating along the length of the boat.{{cite book |last1=McKee |first1=Eric |title=Working Boats of Britain, Their Shape and Purpose |date=1983 |publisher=Conway Maritime Press |location=London |isbn=0-85177-277-3 |edition=1997}}{{rp|135}}}} The usual sailing rig for much of the 19th century was a two-masted ketch rig. A schooner rig was in use from 1878 and the de Horsey sloop rig was adopted from 1884.{{r|May 1999|pp=91–97}} During the [Demak Sultanate](/source/Demak_Sultanate) attack on [Portuguese Malacca](/source/Portuguese_Malacca) of 1513, lancaran were used as armed troop transports for landing alongside [penjajap](/source/penjajap) and [kelulus](/source/kelulus), as the [Javanese junks](/source/Javanese_junk) were too large to approach shore.{{Cite book |title=A History of Malaya |last=Winstedt |first=Sir Richard |publisher=Marican |year=1962}}{{page number|date=September 2023}} In 1788 [Captain William Bligh](/source/William_Bligh) and 18 crewmen were set adrift by mutineers in [HMS ''Bounty''](/source/HMS_Bounty)’s 23-foot (7 m) launch. Bligh navigated the open boat more than 4,000 miles, losing only one man{{snd}}[Tonga](/source/Tonga) to [Timor](/source/Timor), {{convert|3618|nmi|abbr=on}}.{{cite ODNB |title=Bligh, William (1754–1817), naval officer and colonial governor |url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-2650 |year=2004 |language=en |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/2650|isbn=978-0-19-861412-8 |last1=Frost |first1=Alan }} == Use in the United Kingdom == === Civilian use in the United Kingdom === On the [River Thames](/source/River_Thames) the term "launch" is used to mean any motorised pleasure boat. The usage arises from the legislationThames Conservancy Act 1932 governing the management of the Thames and laying down the categories of boats and the tolls for which they were liable. === Military use in the United Kingdom === {{main|Motor launch (naval)}} ''Motor Launch'' was the designation for a type of vessel used in [World War I](/source/World_War_I) and [World War II](/source/World_War_II) by the [Royal Navy](/source/Royal_Navy) and some other navies for inshore work defending harbours ([Harbour defence motor launch](/source/Harbour_defence_motor_launch)) and defending the coast from submarines. The World War II boats were typically {{convert|60|to|115|ft|m|adj=off|disp=b}} long and carried relatively light armament – a few [depth charge](/source/depth_charge)s, one or two small guns and a few [machine gun](/source/machine_gun)s. The [Royal Air Force](/source/Royal_Air_Force) used various boats to support flying boats and to rescue the crews of aircraft that had crashed at sea. The [RAF](/source/Royal_Air_Force_Marine_Branch) [High Speed Launches](/source/High-speed_launch), such as the [Type Two 63 ft HSL](/source/Type_Two_63_ft_HSL), of World War II were derivatives of motor torpedo boat designs. == Sports == In competitive [rowing](/source/Rowing_(Sport)) the term "launch" is used to refer to any motorized boat used by the coach to follow practicing boats during workouts.{{Cite web |title=Electric coaching launches benefit athletes and air quality |url=https://www.torqeedo.com/us/en-us/news-and-press/blog/blog-2021-5-11.html |access-date=2022-09-23 |website=www.torqeedo.com |language=en-us}} == See also == *[RAF rescue launch](/source/Type_Two_63_ft_HSL) *[Cabin cruiser](/source/Cabin_cruiser) *{{annotated link|Slipper launch}} *{{annotated link|Naphtha launch}} * [Picket boat](/source/Picket_boat), a naval launch ==Notes== {{notelist}} == References == {{Reflist}} *{{cite book|title=Allied Coastal Forces of World War Two, Volume I : Fairmile designs and US Submarine Chasers |first1=John |last1=Lambert |author-link1= John Lambert (naval historian) |first2= Al |last2=Ross |date= 1990 |publisher=Anova Books |isbn=978-0-85177-519-7}} {{commons cat}} {{Ship's boats}} Category:Boat types Category:Ship's boats Category:Motorboats --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Launch (boat)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Launch_(boat)) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Launch_(boat)?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.